Produced by Lunanime, in co-production with Creative Conspiracy, with the support of the Flanders Audiovisual Fund.

Pitch: A small giraffe and a tall giraffe have a chance meeting. Despite their obvious difference in stature, they discover a kinship.

Synopsis: On a barren planet roams a small giraffe who is ignored by the taller giraffes. Then the small giraffe meets a giraffe with a very long neck, wearing a very long tie. He starts to climb up the tie. The two giraffes play together, the little one swinging on the tie of the big one. But suddenly, a malicious cloud appears and tears the tie in two. The little giraffe falls down. He lands safely, but then notices that the tall giraffe is stuck inside the cloud. The little giraffe uses the tie in ingenious ways to get the attention of the tall giraffe, all to no avail... Finally, the other giraffes help him build a ladder. The little giraffe wants to return his part of the tie to the tall one, but his friend refuses the gift. Instead, the tall giraffe turns the tie into a bow-tie pro-peller. The small giraffe frolics in the air around the tall one, unaware that their reunion will be short-lived...

THE TIEA short animated film by An Vrombaut

An Vrombaut: ‘The Tie was inspired by an early memory I have of being lifted high up in the air by my father. The film deals with the ties between people: the meetings, the partings and the reunions that affect us all. I wanted to let the purity of the story shine, which is why I pared the film down to its essential elements: a small giraffe, a tall giraffe, some other giraffes, a tree and, of course, a tie.’

Bio An: An Vrombaut was born in Ghent, Belgium in 1967. She studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent and gained an MA in animation at the Royal College of Art in London. Her graduation film Little Wolf (1992) has won numerous inter- national awards. A second short When I grow

up I want to be a tiger (1996) was funded by the Mercedes-Benz Art Foundation and selected for the Berlin Film

Festival. Her most recent film THE TIE (2014) was animated in a painterly CG style. It was produced by Lunanime and the 3D animation was created by Creative Conspiracy, both based in Ghent.

An is best known for creating the animated TV series 64 Zoo Lane (a Millimages/ Zoo Lane Productions co-production). 64 Zoo Lane is one of the highest-rating shows on CBeebies (the BBC’s pre-school channel). Another series Florrie’s Drag-ons was produced by Wish Films in the UK and South African animation company Clockwork Zoo.

An also works as a scriptwriter and editor on TV series such as Bing and Miffy. She has written and illustrated 14 picture books, published by Hodder Children’s Books and Oxford University Press in the UK.

She is currently developing various new projects, including a TV series and a concept for an animated feature.

Story and direction:Producer:

Co-Producer:

Soundtrack by:Tax Shelter Investors:

An VrombautAnnemie Degryse (Lunanime)Luc Van Driessche (Creative Conspiracy)Frederik SioenGreenwingsVan Hulle ShipsuppliersVectis

CREDITS THE TIE:

Technical info:Language: no dialogueAspect ratio: 16:9Running time: 8’39’’Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

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Production LunanimeHof Ter Mere 289000 Ghent – BELGIUMT: + 32 9 277 05 20mail@lunanime.be

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Animation StudioCreative ConspiracyBomastraat 30-369000 Ghent – BELGIUMT: +32 9 331 55 10luc.vd@cc.be